By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians football team hosted the Marion Wolves on Friday night in search of their first win of the season and were turned away, 41-10.
The Wolves started the game on the right foot: four plays into their opening drive, running back Colton Taylor took a handoff and ran 62 yards to the end zone to strike first, making the score 6-0 after a failed extra point. They then recovered a fumble on a botched handoff exchange by Oskaloosa on the following drive and quickly converted that opportunity into another touchdown, this time a 28-yard run by Taylor to make it 13-0.
Oskaloosa was able to right the ship over the remainder of the first half. Early in the second quarter, senior Ayden Plumb delivered a picture-perfect punt to pin the Wolves inside their own one-yard line. The Wolves then fell victim to an errant shotgun snap, leading to a safety when one of their players jumped on the ball in their own end zone.
When the Indians got the ball back, junior quarterback Coleton Fawcett, who was making his first career varsity start at QB with senior Ty Edgar on the shelf with a groin injury, looked poised and consistently made accurate throws. Fawcett guided the Indians down the field with the help of a consistent running game led by junior Carter Jordan, and their drive was punctuated by a 40-yard touchdown strike to senior Cael Ashman. A successful reverse play to Ashman resulted in a two-point conversion, and the Indians had cut the lead to 13-10, where the score remained going into halftime.
However, the Indians were unable to maintain their momentum going into the second half. Marion defensive back Greyson Steffen recorded three interceptions in the half; two of those interceptions saw Steffen get the jump on a flat route, leading to easy pick-sixes. Marion running back Kaehl Gassman added two touchdowns of his own on offense. The Wolves scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and finished with a 41-10 victory to improve their record to 3-5.
Oskaloosa (0-8) will host Clear Creek Amana for Senior Night on Friday. It will be their final game of the season, and coverage will air on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.
